Chatrie v. United States
A plain-English summary from Criminal Defense Resources™, a free resource for pro per/pro se defendants and their families.
- Court
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Decided
- Citation
- No. 25-112 (U.S. June 29, 2026)
What did the court decide?
The Court held that police conducted a Fourth Amendment search when they obtained a person's Google Location History data through a geofence warrant, because people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their cell-phone location information. The Court did not decide whether this particular multi-step warrant was valid; it vacated the Fourth Circuit's decision and sent the case back for that court to decide.
Why does it matter?
This is the Supreme Court's first ruling on geofence warrants. It extends the reasoning of Carpenter v. United States to app-based location history held by a tech company.
Where can I read the full opinion?
Read the full opinion on Cornell Law School LII →
Always read the full opinion and check whether later cases have limited or changed it. A summary can leave out important details.